Reinforced wire shelf for medicine cabinets and the like



June 16, 1964 J. POSTULA ET AL REINFORCED WIRE SHELF FOR MEDICINECABINETS AND THE LIKE Filed June 20, 1962 //a//Z /Z5 6' A m n m: w W mIWU A sq. E9 JQQ so T om. LV% w withinthe shelf brackets.

r 3,137,249 REINFQRCED WIRE SIELF FflR MEDECINE (BABE-JETS AND TIE LIKELouis J. Postnla and Victor A. Fostnla, both of RFD. 3,

' r lidarshaihlyiich;

Filed June 29, 1962, Ser. No. 293,806 1% Claims. (Cl. Hid- 27) UnitedStates Patent This invention relates in general to new and usefulimprovements in supports, and more particularly to a novel shelfconstruction.

This invention particularly relates to a novel shelf construction foruse in cabinets in drugstores and the like.

Shelving for such use, at the present time, is commonly formed of a fiatpiece of glass, plywood or pressed board. However, such shelving whenused in drugstore medicine cabinets is undesirable in that it lacks anupstanding guard on its front edge and provides large areas for catchingdust and other foreign matter. It was a recognition of thesedifiiculties and shortcomings of the prior art which led to theconception and development of the present invention. 7 r Accordinglyamong the objects of the present invention L is the provision of a novellight weight wire shelf which has suflicient strength for the intendedpurpose and at the same time, is very sanitary since it does not provideflat surfaces on which dust and other foreign matter may accumulate.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel shelfconstruction which is provided with a simple reinforcement so thatalthough the shelf is extremely light and readily handleable, the shelfhas suificient strength to provide the necessary supporting function ofthe shelf. Another object of this invention is to provide a novel shelfwhich includes a peripheral frame including sides and ends, transverselyextendingrods underlying the frame and extending between and secured tothe sides of the frame, a nd at least one of the sides having areinforcing rod underlying the same with the reinforcing rod beingsecured to associated ends of the transversely extending u rods, and thereinforcing rods combining with'the frame side and .the ends of thetransversely extending rods to form a vertical truss which reinforcesthe shelf and resists I the bendingthereof, I V Another deficiency ofexisting types of shelves commonly found in medicine cabinets and thelike is that it :is extremely dil'licult and impractical to provideanupstanding frontguard on present types of shelving. It is therefore aprimary object of this invention to provide a novelwireshelfconstruction having an upstanding front guard rail assembly; I

p p A further object of this invention isto provide anovel shelfassembly for use in medicine cabinets and the like which includes aperipheral frame having sides and ends,

fwith the ends preferablybeingjslightly outwardly bowed whereby when theshelf is forced between. a pair f support brackets-which are spacedapart slightly less than the length of the shel f assembly, and the endsof the shelf are resiliently bent and the shelf iswedged and stably heldA still: further object ofthisinvention is to provide a frame havingsides andends, transversely extendingrods .underlying the frame andbeing terminally secured to the I sides of the frame, and reinforcingrods underlying the 3,137,249. Patented June 16, 1954 "ice . tofacilitate the removal of the shelf.

- appear as the description proceeds.

Still further objects'and advantages of the invention wil To theaccomplishment ofthe foregoing andrelated ends, the invention, then,consists of the shelf means hereinafter fully described andparticularlypointed out in the claims, the annexed drawing and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain means for carrying out theinvention, such disclosed means illustrating, however, but

one of various ways in which the principle of the inven tion'may beused.

In the annexed drawing:

' FIGURE 1 is a fragmentaryperspective view of a cabinet'in which thereis mounted a shelf formed in'accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional'view taken through thecabinet and showing the shelf in plan. FIGURE 3 is a fragmentaryvertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, lookinginthe direction of the arrows, and shows the specific details ofconstruction of the shelf.

1 FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken along the line44 of FIGURE 3, lookingin the direction of the arrows, and shows furtherthe details of the shelf construction.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that there isillustrated in FIGURE 1 a conventional type of cabinet,- ordiagrammetically a cabinet door, generally referred to by the numeral10, in whi ch there is: mounted a shelf formed in accordance with thisinvention, the shelf being generally referred to by the numeral 11.

The shelf 11 is of composite welded Wire construction,

and includes a continuous peripheral frame, generally re.- ferred to bythejnumeral 12.. The frame 12 includes a front side 13, a rear side 14,and'ends 15. his to be noted that the ends 15 are preferably slightlyoutwardly bowed,

as'is best shown in FIGURES I and 2 for a purpose to be hereinafter setforth. t

Theshelf 11also' includes aplurality oftransversely extending rods'ld.The rods 16 underlie the frame 12,

extend between the front side 13 and the rear side '14 thereof, and aresecured to the undersurfa'ces of the front side 13 and the rear side 14,as by spot welding.

' Further the shelf 11 is reinforced by means of'a rein- ..novel wireshelf which includesa continuous peripheral forcingrod 17, FIGURES 1and4, which directly underlies the front side 13 and is secured to theundersides of the transversely extending rods 16, as by spotwelding; Asis clearly shown inFIGURE 4, the frame side 13, the

reinforcing rod 17, and 'the transversely extending rods 16 combine todefine a vertically disposed truss which reinforces the shelf 11 andresists vertical bending thereof.

1 The rear side of the'shelf 11 is preferably reinforced by a similartruss which is formed in part by a reinforcing rod 18, FIGURES 1 and 3,secured to the underside of-the opposite ends of the transverselyextending rods 16- and underlying the rear side '14 of the frame 1-2. a

arena a9 At this time, it is pointed out that not only do thereinforcing rods 17 and 18 combine with the frame 12 and thetransversely extending rods 16 to reinforce the shelf 11 againstvertical bending, but they also serve to shield the sharp raw edges atthe ends of the transversely extending rods 16. The ends of the rods 16are disposed between the frame front side 13 and the reinforcing rod 17along the front edge of the shelf 11 and between the frame rear side 14and the reinforcingrod 18 along the rear side of the shelf 11. Thus, theends of the transversely extending rods 16 are not exposed for undesiredengagement by ones hand.

In view of the fact that the shelf 11 is formed of a welded wire or rodconstruction, the shelf 11 may be easily provided with a guard assembly,generally referred to by the numeral 19. The guard assembly 19 includesan upper rod member 21) which terminates at its ends in integral legs 21and which legs 21 have the lower portions thereof Welded to the framefront side 13 and the reinforcing rod 17, as is best shown in FIGURE 3.The

guard assembly 19 also includes a central leg 22, FIG- URE 1, whichextends between the upper rod member and the frame front side 13 and thereinforcing rod 17. The guard assembly 19 also includes a longitudinallower rod member 23'which extends between and is secured to the legs 21.The lower rod member 23 is also secured to the central leg 22. It is tobe understood that the shelf 11 does not have to have the .guardassembly 19 although it is desirable and may even be on both the frontand rear edges of shelf 11, and to save duplication of showing, it is tobe considered that the drawing diagrammatically illustrates same.However, it is to be also understood that when the shelf 11 is providedwith the guard assembly 19, the guard assembly 19 additionallyreinforces the shelf 11 to resist vertical deflection thereof.

The cabinet or door 10 is formed in the usual manner with side Walls 24,and this member 10 may even be a hinged member in a still larger cabinet(not shown). Each of the side walls 24 is provided with a shelf supportbracket 25 for each of the shelves 11. Each shelf support bracket 25 ispreferably of a channel-shaped cross-section, as is best shown in FIGURE4.

When the shelf 11 is mounted within the cabinet 10, the ends 15 of theshelf frame 12 are received in the shelf support brackets 25. However,the spacing between the ends 15 of the shelf frame 12 is preferablyslightly greater than the spacing between the shelf support brackets 25.As a result, when the shelf 11 is mounted within the cabinet 10, it iswedged within the shelf support brackets 25 with the resultant resilientflattening deflection of the ends 15. In this manner, the shelf 11 istightly but removably mounted in the cabinet 10.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 4 in particular, wherein it is to benoted that the reinforcing rod 17 terminates short of the ends of theframe 12. It is to be understood that in preferred construction thereinforcing rod 18 will similarly terminate short of the ends of theframe 12. In this manner, sufiicient clearance is provided for thedeflection of the ends 15 and the reception thereof in the shelf supportbrackets 25.

It is to be understood that not only is the construction of the shelf 11a highly desirable one, but it is also ex-. tremely simple so that theshelf 11 may be fabricated at a minimum cost. In addition, the shelf 11is of a light weight construction, as is desired, to facilitate easyhandling thereof.

While the term rod has been used herein and shown as round in thedrawing, it is intended that'such showing is to be considered as beingdiagrammatic of the many shapes which rods can take and properlyfunction for the purpose herein set forth. Directional terms such as undersides, vertical, et cetera, have been used to facilitate describingthe invention as shown in the drawing, but are not to be considered aslimiting the invention.

While the shelves of the present invention are-usable in various formsof apparatus, one of the major uses of these shelves is in connectionwith medical supply cabinets used in drug stores where the supplies arestored on shelves carried by hinged panels. Members 15 on the ends ofeach shelf project outward a short distance so that when the shelf isshoved into place on the hinged panel, these ends resiliently grip theend members of the panel and hold the shelf from slipping out from itsmounting panel which would allow medicine bottles or the like to slipoff from the shelf under conditions of use.

Although only a preferred embodiment of the invention has beenillustrated and described herein, with some minor variations, it is tobe understood that other minor variations may be made in the inventionwithin the spirit and scope thereof, as described herein and illustratedin the drawing.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employedinstead of those explained, change being made as regards the shelfapparatus herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of thefollowing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as ourinvention:

1. A shelf comprising a continuous peripheral frame having sides andends, a plurality of transversely extending rods extending across theunderside of saidframe between said sides, and a reinforcing rodextending substantially directly beneath at least one of said framesides and secured to the undersides of said transversely extending rods,said one side, said reinforcing rod and ends of said transverselyextending rods combining to form a vertical truss along said one side toreinforce said shelf against vertical deflection.

2. The shelf of claim 1 wherein a second reinforcing rod substantiallydirectly underlies the other of said frame sides and cooperates withsaid other frame side and the associated ends of said transverselyextending rods to form a second vertical truss along saidother side.

3. The shelf of claim 1 wherein associated ends of said transverselyextending rods terminate between said frame one side and saidreinforcing rod whereby the associated ends of said transverselyextending rods are shielded.

4. The shelf of claim 1 wherein said reinforcing rod terminates short ofsaid frame ends whereby said frame ends are free to slide in shelfsupport brackets.

5. The shelf of claim 1 together with an upstanding guard along at leastone of said frame sides, said guard having portions secured to said oneframe side and said reinforcing rod, said guard further reinforcing saidshelf against vertical deflection.

6. The shelf of claim 1 wherein said frame ends are outwardly bowed,whereby when said frame ends are forced between a pair of opposed shelfsupport brackets said frame ends resiliently deflect to hold said shelfin place.

7. In combination with a cabinet having opposed shelf support brackets,a shelf comprising a continuous peripheral frame having sides and ends,a plurality of transversely extending rods extending across theunderside of said frame between said sides, said frame being slightlylonger than the spacing between said brackets, and, said fraine endsbeing outwardly bowed, "whereby when said frame ends are forced intosaid brackets said frame ends resiliently deflect to hold said shelf inplace.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7, wherein said shelf has areinforcing rod under each of said shelf sides joined .to the undersideof the ends of said transversely extending rods, said reinforcing rodsbeing substantially centered onsaid shelf sides and. shorterthan same,and an upstanding guard along at least one of said frame sides, saidguard having portions secured to said shelf side and the'reinforcing rodthereunder, said guard further reinforcing said shelf against verticaldeflection.

9. A shelf comprising a peripheral frame including end portions disposeda predetermined distance opposite from each other and being yieldablydefiectable toward each References Cited in the file of this patentother whereby, when said end portions are forced between UNITED STATESPATENTS a pair of opposed shelf support brackets spaced apart a 1distance less than said predetermined distance, said end ggigi iiportions yieldably deflect to hold said shelf in place on 5 2:564:4731951 sald Shelf P P f 2,671,004 Chadwick et a1. Mar. 2, 1954 10. Incombination With a cabinet having opposed shelf 2,793,760 Z61 et aL May23, 1957 support brackets, a shelf comprising a peripheral frame 793 7 1Geralds May 23 57 including oppositely disposed end portions spaced from2313,95 0 Losching Jan, 7 195 each other a distance slightly greaterthan the distance 10 2,984,533 Sandberg May 16, 1961 bet een said shelfsupport brackets, end portions being 2,994,441 Browning Aug. 1, 1961yieldaoly deflectable toward each other in response to forc- 3,027,016Betch Mar. 27, 1962 ing said end portions against said respectivebrackets. 3,038,630 Clark June 12, 1962

1. A SHELF COMPRISING A CONTINOUS PERIPHERAL FRAME HAVING SIDES ANDENDS, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING RODS EXTENDING ACROSS THEUNDERSIDE OF SAID FRAME BETWEEN SAID SIDES, AND A REINFORCING RODEXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY DIRECTLY BENEATH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FRAMESIDES AND SECURED TO THE UNDERSIDES OF SAID TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING RODS,SAID ONE SIDE, SAID REINFORCING ROD AND ENDS OF SAID TRANSVERSELYEXTENDING RODS COMBINING TO FORM A VERTICAL TRUSS ALONG SAID ONE SIDE TOREINFORCE SAID SHELF AGAINST VERTICAL DEFLECTION.